Mostly Memories
by MJRmutation
Summary: Beckett is moving in with Castle. But while packing up her personal belongings, they take a trip down memory lane.
1. Chapter 1: Books

**So this idea popped into my head and I thought that I would post it and see what response it got. It's set in the future, sometime, all the events of the last 4 seasons and the 15 episodes of season 5 we have have happened. Castle helps Beckett move in with him, but while packing up her personal belongings and nick-nacks, they take a loving, and sometimes painful trip down memory lane. I dont know how long this story will be but I had some ideas that i wanted to work into my other stories but this is just easier. **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

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They parked in her usual spot outside of her apartment. She hesitated only for a moment before taking a deep breath, relinquishing her grip on the steering wheel and unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door, flinging it shut behind her. She simply stood there, in the mid-February chill, squinting at the early sunlight hitting the snow shining off of the idle cars parked along the side walk in front of her. She was taken out of her stillness with a soft touch to her forearm.

"Hey, you sure you want to do this?" Castle asked, in a low, worried voice.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." She replied, covering his hand with her own hand, and smiling warmly back at him. With a warm smile back, and a quick squeeze of his hand, he went around and opened the back passenger door to the car and grabbed a large stack of cardboard boxes. She watched him with a giggly smile on her face as he tried to fumble with grabbing the bag that held the masking tape and markers. She loved it when he would try and do things like this. He would stick his tongue out to the side and grab it in between his teeth. She couldn't help but smile. After several failed attempts, and even more dropped boxes, she strolled around and grabbed the bag for him. With a deep sigh, indicating defeat, he straightened up, rolled his shoulders back, trying to act smooth, and said "Thank you," with a small smirk.

They walked through her doors and stepped into the elevator, the cold metal of the railing making a clinking sound against the single metal that boar her ring, as she tapped her hand against it, waiting for the elevator to arrive at her floor. Walking down the hallway, and stopping at her door, she turned around, and set her gaze upon the door mat that she had bought herself when she first moved in. She opened her mouth to speak but the only thing that was heard was a small crinkling sound of her throat, indicating that she was chocking on her own words.

"Hey," came is once again low voice, meant only for her, "I'm here. I'm always here. I don't want you to feel like you have to do this."

"No, I want this." She responded, lifting her gaze up to his. "It's just these past two years have been... unbelievable. I know that sometimes I can be a little high maintenance. But I love you, Castle. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Now, let's get this over with so we can go home."

With the fact that she had just referred to their loft as home, when they were standing outside of her apartment warmed his heart. She leaned up to kiss him briefly, and some what awkwardly, trying to lean over the stack of boxes he was still gripping. She turned on a heel and unlocked her door, stepping inside and dropping the bag on the floor, not caring where it landed. With Castle on her tail, she paced into her living room and slowly scanned her walls, taking into account the number of boxes they had come with, and the sheer amount of stuff she had.

They were going to need more boxes.

"So, where to start, where to start?" He asked, coming to rest by her side, and placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, the boys are coming over tomorrow to help you out with the heavy stuff, but their isn't much heavy stuff that I'm taking."

"Yeah, I think you and I have both grown accustom to my bed. Have you decided what your doing with the stuff your not taking? You can always stick it in storage." He offered.

"I think I might just give it to charity, it's better than having it sitting in a dark storage unit never to get used again. But we are here for everything else. Why don't we start over there." She said, pointing over to her book case.

With a heavy sigh, he picked up a few boxes, unfolded them and set them up next to her book case. "You know I have most of these books, right?" He pointed out.

"Castle, what did I tell you. A girl likes her stuff. Haven't you ever had a favorite stuffed animal when you were a kid, but then something happened to it, and then your mother got you a new one, but it just wasn't the same? Same concept here, okay? And besides, I know your just trying to get out of moving heavy boxes of books." She said, smacking him lightly on his chest.

They worked sluggishly, still trying to get through the fatigue of sleep. With both of the boxes the had set beside each of them full, Beckett went to grab the tape that had been left beside the door in the plastic bag. Right as she got up to leave, his gaze was set upon a certain section of her book case. An evil grin formed on his face as he read the first title that lay stacked in its place. _Flowers for your Grave. _He knew she had read his work, but seeing is believing they always say. He slipping the book out and held it up to inspect it. It was well worn. The cover was torn at the top, the pages felt old and rogue, the spine was cracked in several spaces, someone had definitely read this piece more than once. Slipping it back, he grabbed the next title, his first Derrik Storm book, _A Gathering Storm. _He inspected it just as the previous. Again, well worn, pages felt rogue, but printed on higher quality paper. Thumbing the book, to check for other notes, he stopped at the dedication page. He did a quick double take, to make sure he was seeing what he was really seeing.

_To Kate-_

_Never let a storm dampen your sky_

_Richard Castle_

He was in a slight state of shock. True, he had held hundreds of book signings, and release parties, and other event where he would sign books. Even getting the occasional fan-girl on the side walk, asking for him to sign her book, among other things. But someone like Kate was sure to stick out. Even if he was going on auto-pilot. He searched his memory, trying to remember if he had seen her. Could it really be that he had met Kate Beckett before she was detective Kate Beckett, before she was his Kate Beckett?

"Hey, what's the hold... up." She asked, as she glanced at what was open before him. "I thought we agreed that the right side was my side and the left side was yours." He turned his head and offered her a surprised look, as if to say 'no way'.

"I signed this?" He asked, holding up her copy of his book.

"Uhmm, well, yeah." She offered shyly.

"No, no. In all these past years, never once have you ever mentioned that you had come to one of my book signings before we actually met." He said, getting up from his seated position.

"You didn't ask. Besides, aren't I allowed a little privacy?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, yes. But I mean, come on! You, Kathrine Beckett, stood in a line of people, for hours, just to meet me."

"And you ask why I didn't tell you?"

"I knew you were a fan but I didn't know you were a... _fan_." He said, using air quotes.

With a light sigh, she relented. "Look, if I tell you something, you have to promise me something in return."

"Anything." He replied quickly, oblivious to what he had just agreed.

"If I tell you this, you have to promise me, _promise, _that you won't let it go to your head." She warned, poking him in the chest.

Narrowing his eyes at her, and hiding behind a quirk of his lips, he agreed. "Deal."

"It was about a month after my mom was killed. I was a wreck. I went into her home office to try and, be with her, and she had a copy of A Rose for Ever After open on her desk. So I picked it up and started to read it. And soon, it was the next one, and then the next one. Pretty soon, I was rereading everything she had of yours. So I went out and picked up a copy of the first Derrik Storm. The only times I would feel, normal is when I was reading your books. I wasn't tied down by grief, or shackled by feelings of loss, or hopelessly trying to cope. It was a way out. It helped me a lot. One day I was passing by a book store and they were advertising that you were going to be holding a book signing there, so I decided to go. I must have stood in line for at least two and a half hours. I told you that your books helped me out a lot, but I could tell that you had been hearing things like that all day. But I read what you had written on the page, and I felt better."

He understood why she was hesitant to tell him this, but he was glad she did. He knew it was hard telling him about her times of grief, her times of trying to cope with the sudden and violent death of her mother. All of the times that she had fallen apart in his arms and proven that no matter what you do, the pain will always be there, and the only thing that he could do was be there, and be her life preserver when she thought she was drowning. But knowing that he was doing it long before she would come to him in sweats and no make up on just to have his arms wrapped safely around her as she would stifle her sobs into his shoulder, it only served to cement his adoration for this woman.

"I love you, Kate." He said simply, bringing a hand to rest upon her cheek. He guided himself down to her lips, placed a soft, lingering kiss upon them.

"I love you too, Rick." She echoed, and came to wrap her arms around his mid section and place her ear on his chest to listen to his steady heartbeat. After sitting idle for a long moment, neither of them wanting to pry themselves away from one another, Kate finally spoke up. "You broke the promise didn't you." She said, in a flat tone.

"Just a little."

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**A/N: Most people have kate just tell castle one day in a certain situation that his books helped her through her mothers murder, but I always thought that it was something that castle would have to work at. Like it isnt something kate would tell him willingly, kind of. Anyway, REVIEW! **

**and for those of you following The Impression That I Get, I will post the next chapter ASAP! Im still writing/ figuring out the case work in it, and how it will tie into castle and becketts relationship. but i will get that posted by the end of this week. **


	2. Chapter 2:Mousey

**A/N: For those of you following Giving up, Giving in, Ive kind of "given up" (pun not intended) on that story. I wrote myself into a place where I cant get out easily. I am open how ever to an idea on where to take it. I had an idea but all the ideas i come one with end up with one of them hovering over the other in a cliche hospital setting. If you have any ideas. let me know, please. I am open to having a co-writer on that story. **

**Anyway, this fic will only be about 6 or maybe 7 chapters long. **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, but i can still dream.**

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Having packed up all of her books, which took much less time than originally planned, they moved over to her kitchen and made quick work of it, deciding to just throw away the already spoiled food and other boxes of meals that were quick to make out of a box. They moved into the bed room, and Castle stood at the thresh hold with his hands on his hips, looking back and forth, from wall to wall.

"You know, some of the best night of my life were in this room." He stated proudly.

"Yeah, mine too." She said, coming up from behind to stand to his left with her arms crossed.

"So, what do you need out of here?" He asked, taking a few more slow steps forward.

"Well, my clothes, the stuff out of my bathroom, and there are a few personal things I need."

"I'll let you deal with the bathroom stuff. I learned after two marriages that there is a reason for two sinks in the bathroom." He said, coming to face her.

"Alright, why don't you strip the bed. Goodwill will be here after everything is done tomorrow to pick it up." She reminded, fumbling in her closet for the thick plastic bag that held the bedding. She handed him the crumpled and noisy piece of plastic and he went about the annoying job of trying to fit the abnormally thick comforter he had bought her after too many nights spent here into the bag. After the comforter was done, he grabbed the thin sheet that was left and tore it from the bed, leaving it strewn out on the floor in a messy pile. He bent down to pick it up when something under the bed caught her eye. It was rather fuzzy and plush. Tossing the task at hand aside for now, he bend down even further to get a better look. Still not able to completely make out the object hidden under the darkness that loomed under her bed, he got on his knees and reached for it, until the object was reachable by his fingertips alone. With a firm tug, he pulled it free.

It was a small, worn, and ratty stuffed mouse. It had stitching on its right arm, and had a goofy smile adorning its plush face. He flipped it over a couple times, taking note of all the small rips and stitching's that had been made. He clasped the tag on the stuffed animals foot between his fingers to read it. 'Katie', with the K backwards. She must have been 3 or 4 when she got this.

"I see you found mousey." Kate's voice came to his right. The sound of shampoo bottles being thrown into a basket could be heard, but his attention remained on the stuffed mouse until her words registered in his brain.

"Uh, yeah. Mousey?" Castle asked, turning a wondering look to Kate.

"Didn't you have a favorite G.I. Joe or something as a kid that you always used to carry around with you?" She asked, prancing up next to him.

"Well, yeah, every one did. I had an old batman blanket I used to sleep in. But I just assumed that everyone lost their special thing." He thought outwardly.

"Just because you weren't responsible with your toys doesn't mean I was too." She said, coming closer to grab the mouse's ear and pull it into the cradle of her hands. She stared at it with a soft expression for a long moment, every once in a while giving it a squeeze.

"So?" He pondered.

"I was three. I got him as a Christmas present. I used to carry him every where I went. I still remember when his arm got torn off by accident." She ran her finger along the stitching on the arm. "I ran to my mom bawling, saying 'Mommy, mommy! Mousey's hurt, can you fix him?', every time he got torn, she would fix him. I've had him ever since. I even took him to Stanford with me. I even stuffed him on my carry on on the flight out when I went abroad for a semester. I used to get teased about it. After my mom died, part of my couldn't stand to look at him anymore. It would just remind me that no matter how much you try to fix something, everything goes away eventually. But I couldn't get rid of him. As stupid and cheesy as this sounds, he's always been there for me."

His heart was warmed by her story. The simple fact that she had kept a very dear child hood friend around for so long was endearing.

"I was hoping to pass it on to my daughter when she was ready, if I ever... well," she let the sentence fall short. He only proposed two days ago.

"I'm sure she will love it as much as you do." He finished for her as he came up in front of her and ran a soft hand down her arm.

A small, evil smirk formed on her lips and her eyes flicked up to meet his eyes, that now had a small glint of fear in them. She lifted the stuffed mouse up to her ear and put on a face to make it look like she was listening

"What's that, Mousey?" She flicked her eyes back to Castle. "You want Castle to give you a kiss?" She said, in a voice that mocked astonishment.

"Kate, that thing has been under your bed for who knows how long." He said, trying to get out of it.

"Oh, come on. You know you want to. " She persisted, lifting the mouse up to where it was inches from his face and began to wave it from side to side. With her lips puckered out she began again, in an amusing voice that made him giggle, despite his own consent not to. "Give him a kiss."

With a silent sigh, he met her eyes, glittering with amusement, and placed a small, pretend kiss on the stuffed animals forehead. "Aww, see! It wasn't that bad?" She was met with an accusing smirk. With a small gasp, she returned her attention back to the mouse. "What's that, Mousey?" She returned the mouse back up to her ear. "You think I should? No! Really? Ooooookay."

With the evil smirk returning to her face, all Castle could do now was brace himself. She quickly leaned up and placed a hard but brief kiss on his lips. "Mousey says you're a good kisser." She said, stepping a pace closer.

"Well, as flattered as I am, Mousey there doesn't have much kissing ability. But you on the other hand," he snaked his arms around her mid section to squeeze the mouse between the two of them, "are a fantastic kisser."

She leaned up briefly to place a small kiss on his slightly ajar lips, and began to speak, "Well, practice does make perfect."

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**A/N:This one wasn't as long as I originally thought it would be when i started it, but I am pleased with the way it turned out. And for your information, i based the whole stuffed mouse thing on a stuffed mouse i had when i was a kid, stupid cat tore of the arm when i was 5, and my mother sewed it back on. So i did have a little experience with this. Anyway, REVIEW! I like to know what you guys think, good or bad. **


	3. Chapter 3: Pictures

**Disclaimer: still not mine, but i have a dream!**

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After untangling themselves from each other, Kate tossed the stuffed animal on the stripped bed and went back to the bathroom to get the rest of her things, leaving Castle to finish folding up the sheet that he had forgotten about. After ten minutes of fussing, Castle finally managed to get the sheet folded up and placed in its respective bag. Kate had finally come out of her bathroom, carrying a small, clear basket full of hair products, and the chord of her curling iron hanging out of the handle slot. She set it next to the others that had been prepared and went back out to grab another cardboard box, calling back an order to Castle on her way out.

"Can you take down all of the pictures and set them on the bed for me? I'll grab the newspaper." She called back.

Castle wordlessly started at the task that had been given to him. He moved over to wall opposite of her bathroom and started from left to right. The first picture he came to was of her parents, most likely on their wedding day, judging by the way Jim was dressed up and the way he was dipping Johanna, who was clad in an elegant white dress. It looked like their first dance as husband and wife. His mind quickly went to his much rehearsed fantasy of his and Kate's wedding day, the way her dress would billow as he spun her around as they danced, the way she would smile when she slid on the final ring, along with the promise it meant to both of them. He quickly shook his head to snap himself out of it, he was getting a bit ahead of himself. He set the picture on the foot of the bed and moved back to the wall. The next picture he came to was of Johanna and Kate getting ready to skate, a few weeks before she was murdered. He smiled a sad smile to himself, he did every time this picture caught his eye. He set it next to the first.

The next picture he came to was of himself, with Kate's arms slung securely around his chest and a bright, loving smile adorning her face as she beamed up at him. His mind went back to when this picture was taken.

_"Castle, bro, you sure about this?" Esposito cautioned him, coming close to him to speak next to his ear. _

_"Yeah man, you know she doesn't like to be surprised." Ryan reminded, coming to stand on Castle's other side to speak in his other ear. _

_"Guys, trust me. It's Beckett's birthday and she told me not to make a big deal about it. So naturally..." _

_"You throw her a surprise party?" Ryan asked, throwing on a confused face. _

_"Hey, would you just go over there and get ready! Mother and Alexis can only keep Beckett occupied for so long. They will be back any minute!" Castle shewed his friends off and pointed them in the direction of the couch. He pointed over to Jenny and waved her over, along with Maddie, Lanie, Krapowskie, along with some other familiar faces from the precinct. He was glad that the captain was busy tonight when he had asked her. Outside, some faint voices could be heard after Castle silently did an interpretive dance signaling everyone to be quiet. _

_"No, Martha, it was fine! I really enjoyed it, even though that baby did spit up on me..." Beckett said. She was using her 'I just want to go home' voice, maybe this was a bad idea. _

_"Oh I'm sorry about that dear! Well, I'm sure Richard will be eager to see you." Martha reassured. _

_Beckett opened the door, her gaze averted to the floor only momentarily as everyone yelled 'Surprise!'. She responded out of second nature to flip her coat back and reach for her holster that she had left on the bedside table, she was off duty after all, but the look of shock was immediately replaced with an honestly surprised smile as her gaze was reverted to Castle, standing in front of the rather small crowd of people, his hand adorning two glasses of champagne. After he was met with a brief moment of silence, Castle went into explaining himself. _

_"Look, I know you said nothing big, but I just thought that you deserved a party and..." _

_"Castle..."_

_"I knew that if I let you in on it, you'd end up doing all the work.." _

_"Castle!" _

_"And I just wanted to do this for you because you do deserve it because you..." _

_"CASTLE!" She shouted, grasping the sides of his face to get his raft attention. "I love it, thank you." She kept her grasp on him firm, but only released it after she gave him a quick kiss on his smiling lips. Her eyes continued to gleam as she gaze Lanie a hug, Lanie giving her a very happy birthday greeting. Esposito moved up behind Castle and patted him on the back, only after Castle had cocked his shoulders back and puffed out his chest, quite proud of himself. _

_"Told you she'd like it." Esposito said, a grin working its way onto his face. Castle simply cocked his eyebrow up at him and moved off to hand Beckett the champagne that he had poured for her. After making her quick rounds, making sure to thank everyone for coming and their help in pulling this off, Beckett went to find her boyfriend, but didn't have to search far as he was tailing close behind her, awaiting her attention. When he was greeted with yet another warm smile, he extended the glass to her. She accepted without reluctance, and stepped closer. _

_"I invited your dad but he said he couldn't make it, said he had to get some paperwork done, but he says Happy Birthday." _

_"Yeah, my birthday has kind of been a hard day for him after my mom died." Castle brought up a warm hand to rub against her arm and it was soon covered with her own. "Thank you, Castle. It's been a long time since anyone has done this for me." _

_"It's my pleasure, Kate." She finished off her champagne, set the glass down on the counter, and snaked her arms around his neck and spoke again. "So, what did you get me?" _

_"Isn't the party enough?" He jokingly asked, bringing his hands up to her sides. She just raised her eye brows, and quirked her lips off to the side. "If you must know, it's a surprise." _

_"Don't you think I've had enough surprises for one night?" _

_"Nope." After a long staring contest, which he lost, he continued, "Okay, fine." He reached behind him and pulled out a rectangular box out of his back pocket and reached over the arm that was still snaked around his neck to place it in her plane of view. She looked down at the black box in front of her and back up to the glimmer in his eyes. She removed her arms from around his neck and clasp the box in her hands and looked back up at him once more to receive a small nod of reassurance, telling her to open it. She lifted the small box and a small gasp escaped. _

_It was a bracelet, gold with a topaz inlay around the edges, the word 'Always' edged in black, cursive letters in the center of the display. _

_"Oh, Castle. It's beautiful!" He lifted the box out of her hand, slipped the bracelet out of its place, and set the box off to the side. He took her left writs out of its place, that was firmly planted on her chest, with her hand slayed out, unhooked the bracelet, and gently hooked it onto her. It had a loose, but perfect fit. She turned her wrist over to gaze upon the word that was etched into the jewelry. What that word meant to them, what it hid, the true meaning of them, they would always be there, always have each other to lean on, always be there to lift the other up when they needed saving, the meaning that was placed on this one word soared in her heart as she placed her left hand over his own heart and leaned back up to give him a sweet, lingering kiss that stole each others breath away, but brief enough to not gather more than a passing glance by their company. _

_"Happy Birthday, Kate." He said, leaning his forehead against hers. _

_"Thank you , Rick." _

"Hey, I brought you some more coffee." Kate said, coming back into the room, holding a cardboard box and a coffee mug. She moved her attention over to Castle, who was staring into a picture frame. She made her way over to him and looked down at the picture that he was holding. A warm smile, the same one that he was wearing, was forming.

"Hell of a night, huh?" Kate said, seeming to snap him out of his memory.

"I remember I practically had to shove Esposito out the door that night." He stepped forward and placed the picture next to the others.

"Well, you weren't the one who had to give Lanie a twenty to keep the 'details' of that night to herself." She said, using air quotes.

"You know I will never get why women tell each other things like that." He said, taking a picture of her and her father off of the wall and setting it gently next to the others.

"Same reason men do." She said, taking the newspaper out of the box and wrapping the first picture up in a single sheet and placing it next to her.

"I will have you know, that I have never told Ryan, nor Espo about anything regarding our sex life. And lord knows, they have asked."

She changed the subject by simply remaining silent and continued to wrap picture frames up in the newspaper of yesterday. She stopped at the picture of Castle and her.

She has found her _Always._

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**A/N: So the next chapter, will be a little more painful. I was going to make it this chapter, but i wanted to get them in a place where they were so caught up in good and happy memorys that it would make the more painful ones easier to go through. But I will try my best with the next chapter. As for this chapter, REVIEW!, and in case your wondering after this chapter, gates does know about them, and I will make a quick reference to that hopfully in my next chapter, if not the next. **

**In my own personal opinion, i think gates already knows, I mean, she is the captain of a precinct full of detectives, she isnt dumb, I think she knew that the earrings were meant for Beckett, I think she is just ignoring it for now. But we will find out. **


	4. Chapter 4: Clothes

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, but i have a dream!**

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Getting the pictures wrapped up and placed gently in a box, Kate stuck the bedding, and a pillow inside the box to fill space, closed it and taped it up, marking it 'Bedroom' on the side. She slid it over with the baskets out of the bathroom.

"So, what else?" Castle asked.

"Just my clothes, then we can take everything down." Beckett said, folding out another box to set it up.

"Well, half of your wardrobe being back at the loft, the only things that could be left is the things I haven't seen you in." He said, waggling his eye brows. She narrowed her eyes at him and went over to her closet and opened the door. She threw a few work shirts on the bed, along with some sweaters. There was a loud knock on the door, bringing them both out of the trance the other was creating.

"That's probably my landlord. I'll be right back, want to finish taking everything out?" She asked, leaving the bedroom quickly.

"Sure!" Castle threw out.

"Don't ogle!" She threw back over her shoulder and went to answer the door.

Castle made his way over to her closet with a mischief demeanor to his posture and began to remove garment bags. He came across a shiny, thin black dress, and he immediately recognized it as the one she wore when they went undercover. _Shame the only time I ever took it off was with my imagination, _he thought to himself, and tossed it on the bed. After a few more things, he came across something in the very, very far back of the closet, put there to be forever forgotten. He reached back to slide it up front to take a closer look, excited to see what sexy little number she had hidden away for him, but instead was hit with a heavy weight, the weight of guilt, of fear, of disbelief. He thought he accepted this, he thought that he had put it behind him, behind them. But this just brought it all back up, along with the taste of bile to the back of his throat.

Under a thin layer of plastic, was her dress uniform, with the smallest hole above one of the button holes. He moved his shaky hand up to trace it. Why did she still have this? Why was this even here? Shouldn't this be in her locker at the precinct or something? Shouldn't she have had this replaced? All these questions raced through his head as he traced the outline of the bullet hole once more.

"My landlord said he would open the door for us tomorrow and... Castle? Castle, you okay?" She asked as she took note of his stiff posture, the lack of the movement in his shoulders, indicating that he was either not breathing, or taking short, abrupt breaths. She slowly moved behind him and put a soothing hand on the center of his back. "Castle, what is it?" She tried once again, as she came next to him and looked at his sunken facial features. She drew a line of his eye sight and inspected what his trembling hand was reaching out for. She had completely forgotten that her uniform was in the back of her closet. That's why she had but it back there after all, to be forgotten.

"You know, I still think about that day every night, right as I'm trying to get to sleep. Even now, sometimes I can still feel the way your body shook in my arms when I tried to..."

She remained rubbing up and down on his back, staying quiet, mostly because she didn't know what to say.

"I still blame myself, at times. Sometimes, I find myself wondering 'if only I was faster, if only I wouldn't have pushed so hard'. After Josh confronted me, I... he said that it was all because of me that Montgomery was dead and that you had been shot, and all I could do was tell myself that he was right."

She remembered exactly what Josh had said to him, because he had said it to her too. Josh had already disliked Castle as part of her life, but he was her partner, and hearing Josh say that it was because of him that she had been shot, it was the final nail in the coffin that was their relationship.

"Castle, none of it was your fault, but if you want to play the blame game, fine. If I had listened to you when you told me to back off, then I never would have gotten shot, and Montgomery might still be alive. If I hadn't kicked you out that day when you came here, if I had just told you what you really meant to me then, then none of that would have happened. Castle, we could go on and on with 'if's', but there is only one thing that matters, you know what that is?" She asked, waiting for an answer. He lifted up his shimmering eyes once more to meet hers. "We are here now, and we are stronger because of it." His mouth twitched into a watery smile and she pulled into a tight embrace with her arms hooked behind his head, each of them squeezing hard enough to lift her off of the ground. After a minute, he loosened up his grip on her and spoke after a slight sniffle. "Why do you still have this thing anyway?"

"The precinct was going to make me pay for a new one, and they are pricey." She said, hoping to lighten to mood.

"Well, it's the last thing in here, after that we are pretty much done." He said, after clearing his throat.

"Why don't we just leave it in there, I need a new one anyway."

"You sure?" He asked, closing the closet doors anyway.

"Yeah. I almost never wear it anyway." She reminded him, stepping closer and snaking her arms around his neck once more.

"Well, you almost never wear that little black dress you wore when we went under cover, but you're taking that."

"Yes, I am. Tell you what, if you lug all of the boxes down to the car for me, I'll put on that dress again, and we can go out for dinner tomorrow night." She suggested, in a sultry voice.

"Mmm, dinner, you say?" He asked, raising an eye brow.

"As long as you promise to behave yourself."

"Oh Kate, with you in that dress, I aim to misbehave." He said, pulling her snug against him.

"Well, get to work, you have boxes to carry for me." She poked him in the chest, and spun around and walked out.

"The things we do for love." He said to himself and he picked up the first box next to him.

* * *

**A/N: So, i intended this chapter to be a little more rough, but since I wrote Somewhere In The Between, I felt like if I had, I would just be using stuff from that, so If you want to know what I mean, you should read it, like now, DO EET NAOW! If you want. Anyway, REVIEW, I might make the next chapter my last. or maybe write one more after that, im still not entirely sure. **

**And for all of those fellow Browncoats out there, yes, that was a firefly reference! **


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